Creating food products in large quantities at a commercial processing facility requires usually the storage of large volumes of the unprocessed or raw food product. In the case of products produced from potatoes, turnips, sugar beets, onions or certain fruits, the raw materials are delivered by trailer truck or rail car for inspection and reception into the plant's raw product storage area. Many plant owners wish to maintain the various batch loads of products segregated in the storage facility so that the particular characteristics of each batch of product, such as age, water or sugar content, may be monitored so that the ongoing processing may be adjusted, if necessary, to give the desired optimum end product. Commonly, the raw product in truck load batches is deposited in storage bins and data is taken from each batch, where necessary, so that where possible, each differing batch of incoming raw product may be stored in a dedicated bin.
The above-mentioned vegetables and fruits are harvested mechanically for the most part by equipment moving through the growing field or orchard. Irrespective of the steps taken to harvest these crops in as clean a condition as possible, it is nevertheless found that wet soil, stones, twigs, stems and branches and other vegetable matter are entrained with the crop when delivered to the processing plant. This debris, in many instances, clogs the handling equipment requiring maintenance personnel to use high pressure water for clearing the equipment. Further, handling these crops which have become soft from aging or other conditions sometimes produce a "mush" in the storage facilities and in the related handling equipment where the soft products are squashed, rendering a significant portion of the batch unusable for processing. This results in waste to be discarded.
In the case of handling potatoes for temporary storage prior to processing these products are frequently held in batches deposited in bins of generally a rectilinear plan shape, but with at least one inclined wall where incoming potatoes may roll down to reduce bruising and breakage which would otherwise occur from a vertical free fall. The inclined wall extends out over the base of the bin and, thus a substantial portion of the bin occupies a considerable amount of valuable plant area. "Bridging" of potatoes in a bin frequently occurs where the potatoes will not descend into the withdrawal or discharge mechanism but remain lodged in an arch-like configuration between the sidewalls of the bin. In this instance, a worker must enter the bin with a probe to break up the bridge or arch of potatoes so that the bin may be further emptied and its contents carried through to the processing line. This phenomenon is seen with other products. It is very desirable that the raw product handling system be operated from the plant floor without requiring frequent attention by operators or maintenance personnel to climb a ladder for operational adjustment, especially during the normal bin loading and unloading cycle.